Copywriting is not rocket science. If you speak fluent English, chances are you can learn to write great copy soon. Here’s how.

Read the Gary Halbert Letters

Gary Halbert was one of the greatest copywriters to ever live. In fact, he’s the writer who wrote the one piece of copy that’s been mailed more than any other piece of copy on the planet.

Though he recently passed away, all his previous works and teachings are still freely available online. Reading through all his previous works and newsletters will give you a very strong start in learning how to copywrite.

Visit www.thegaryhalbertletter.com

Study Everything You Can

Study everything you can about the various parts of the sales process. Learn how to …

* Write a good headline
* Direct people’s attention
* Intensify the problem and create a solution
* Ask for the sale
* Build proof
* Use power words

Study everything you can from different teachers about everything it takes to make a sale online.

Start a Swipe File

One of the best ways to learn is to study people who are already great. One way to do so is to create a swipe file.

Sign up to as many newsletters or magazines as you can. You’ll immediately start getting letters in the mail trying to pitch to you.

Any that catch your attention, keep them in a folder. This is your swipe file.

Similarly, create a separate email account online. Sign up for as many newsletters as you can. Save any email or favorite, or “star” any email that catches your attention.

In just a few weeks, you’ll have access to tons of great sales material to learn from and draw inspiration from.

Start Writing

Writing copy isn’t something you can learn in theory. You have to actually start writing to really get the hang of it.

After you feel like you’ve got the basics, write your first sales letter. Even if it’s just for someone else’s product or your own product and you have no idea how you’re going to drive traffic to it, just write the letter anyway.

Alternatively, offer to write one for free on a marketing forum online, just for the sake of having a sample (if you want to freelance) and to get experience.

Whatever it’s going to take to get some experience, just do it to get started. Then aim to write at least one sales letter every six weeks or so to build up your skill.

Learning to write great copy is one of the highest paid skills you can possibly learn. It’s not difficult, though it does take effort to start. Learn this skill and it will pay off handsomely for you for the rest of your life.

Step #1 An Attention Grabbing Headline

Your headline is the single most important part of your sales letter. If it doesn’t grab your prospect’s attention, they won’t read the rest of your copy and they’ll never get to the call to action.

So what types of headlines grab attention?

* Promises – Promise to solve their problem.

* Curiosity – Arouse curiosity to motivate them to continue reading

* Make them an offer they can’t refuse

One great way to ensure you have a great headline each and every time is to start collecting top selling headlines. They call it a swipe file and it’s a wonderful way to both learn how to write great sales copy and to perfect your skills.

Step #2 Your Opening Paragraph.

The goal with your opening paragraph is to establish a connection with your reader. You may paint a picture of the struggle they’re dealing with and imply that you have the answer. You may share a personal story of your own so they begin to trust you. The first paragraph’s job is to identify the problem that your product or service solves and to motivate them to continue reading.

Now quite often if your headline and first paragraph do their job, your prospect is now going to do one of two things. They’re either going to skim the bold print and bullet points on your sales copy and then read your call to action.

Or

They’re going to skip right down to your call to action. This means your first paragraph is the second most important thing on the page. The third..your call to action but we’ll get there in a minute.

Step #3 Features and benefits.

Benefits first. The body of your copy will highlight exactly how your product or service is going to solve the reader’s problems. You accomplish this by focusing on the benefits. How is it going to change your reader’s life? We make buying decisions based on our emotions. The most successful copywriters know this and really tap into the emotions and the benefits prospects are truly seeking.

We justify our buying decision based on facts. You’ll want to then add some credibility to your claims. You can use endorsements, supporting data, testimonials and your credentials or experiences and successes to back up your claims.

Highlight the areas you want to emphasize in your sales letter with bullet points and bold lettering. As we mentioned, people skim often the copy and they’re looking for keywords to help them make a buying decision.

Step #4 Your call to action. Every successful sales letter has a call to action. Without it, your prospect won’t know what they’re supposed to do next. Collect a swipe file of calls to action as well.

Step #5 The PS. Interestingly enough, the postscript is often the last thing people read before they make a buying decision. You can use the postscript(s) to add a guarantee, to add scarcity or urgency to your message.

Writing good sales letters takes practice. However, with these key elements you’re on your way to good conversions and profits. Print and keep compelling sales pages in a swipe file. You can pull them out when you need inspiration and guidance.

First of all, let’s begin with a simplified example (very simplified), Jim and Bob both have the same car for sale. Each one goes to Craigslist and quickly types up a for-sale ad. They go as follows:

1) Car for sale:

• The cars is a four door sedan.
• The car has well maintained air conditioning.
• The deck is a CD/MP3 player.
• The car has a 120HP 4 cylinder engine.
• There is an anti-theft device installed.
• The car has recently purchased snow tires.

2) Car for sale:

• Spacious four door sedan seats five, making road trips or family outings more comfortable.
• Strong, well maintained air conditioning ensures you’ll be cool and comfortable on hot summer days.
• CD/MP3 player plays any CD type or can be hooked up to an iPod, so your music is at your fingertips regardless of format.
• 120HP 4 cylinder engine has kick but goes easy on the gas so you’ll save at the fuel pumps.
• Anti-theft device ensures peace of mind. Your car will be safe regardless of where you park it.
• Recently purchased snow tires ensure safety by maintaining grip in even the worst winter conditions.

What’s the difference here aside from the second for sale ad being wordier than the first one? The word count isn’t the important distinction here. Yes, the second one is longer and more descriptive, but it’s what the second one is expanding on that counts. These two ads (while both poor on the grand scale, cut me some slack, they’re just an example!) demonstrate the difference between selling based on features and selling based on benefits.

The first ad describes the car just like the second one does. Each ad covers the exact same aspects of the car as the other, but the second ad is the one that will sell. Why? Simple. The first ad focuses on the features of the car, whereas the second ad lists the features, but focuses on the benefits of those features, and benefits are what consumers care about.

What’s the difference between a feature and a benefit? A feature is a cold, emotionless, technical aspect of a product or service. A feature is a description of something the product has or does, but not what it does for you. A benefit on the other hand is exactly that. A benefit is what the consumer gets from the feature. A benefit describes how a feature will make a customers life easier or happier. It’s emotional and exciting. Features are cold and boring. For example, take the snow tires. The snow tires themselves are a feature of the car. But subconsciously the consumer is saying “why do I care about snow tires?” The answer is the benefit. “I care about snow tires because they’ll keep me safe when I’m driving in conditions that could otherwise result in an accident”. Likewise, numbers such as 120 horsepower or four cylinders might just go in one ear and out the other, but telling a customer that the engine will save them money when they fill up their car will likely peak their interest.

The point to drive home here, that is all too often overlooked, is that people make desicions emotionally. Consumers aren’t computers that take in raw data, process it and make a decision based on what the calculations say the best decision is. When people make buying decisions, they react to emotional stimulus, so your sales copy should be providing it generously. Benefits are emotional, they answer the ultimate question on every buyers mind, “what’s in it for me?” (WIIFM). On the other hand, features are bland, they evoke no emotional response, and worst of all, when listed without benefits, they make customers search for the answer to that ever important question. Don’t make your customers have to dig in their brains to answer WIIFM. Tell them yourself!

Keep in mind, features are important. First of all, you’ll always have the tech-heads who gobble up features like they’re candy and ask for more. For these people, seeing that list of specs is a thrill. Secondly, it’s always good to list the features simply because even if the potential buyer isn’t a tech-head, it still makes it very clear what the product does and does not do. That being said, listing features alone is leaving money on the table. Features always work best when coupled to a benefit. When you’re writing your sales copy, if you absolutely have to choose between listing one or the other (you have a word count limit or there isn’t much space for text), shoot for benefits, but whenever possible, marry them. Give your customer the raw information so they know the nitty-gritty of the product, but then tell them about all the wonderful things that the nitty-gritty will do for them.

Remember, people are emotional creatures, they make buying decisions with emotion, so evoke emotion! Telling me your airplanes seats are 21″ wide make me shrug my shoulders and say “meh, I can probably get a cheaper price”. Telling me your 21″ wide seat is the most spacious in the industry, so I’ll have plenty of room to get comfortable during my long flight makes me say “wow. My comfort is worth a little extra money!” Sell me the feature and I may go elsewhere, sell me the benefit and I just may stay!